Transform your body with BraveBodies Yoga

Welcome, brave visitor!

Have your fingers brought you here in search of a better you? If so, great. Our classes are down-to-earth and result-oriented. Here is what you will gain with regular practice:

Strength and muscle tone

Our classes are designed, first and foremost, to make you strong. You will develop stronger wrists, ankles, legs, abs, upper body – and stronger will, too, to get through it all! BraveBodies Vinyasa Flow is firmly rooted in contemporary Pilates principles of spinal alignment and core stability. This Pilates approach makes it safe and grounded – your safety is my number one priority.

Flexibility

You WILL, without question, become more supple in our classes. Having said that, our focus is on functional flexibility, not on contortionism. Don’t worry about having to twist yourself into impossible shapes. Many bodies simply aren’t able to do this, and that is completely okay. We aim to gain the fullest range of movement for our muscles and joints that our bodies are capable of, but in a way that is useful to us, not for its own sake. Hyper-flexibility, as expressed in some advanced yoga poses, is not always desirable, because it can lead to reduced stability and cause injuries.

Balance

The ability to balance is one of the hallmarks of fitness, and it is something we lose as we age. You’ll be kept on your toes a lot – literally! Other balancing body-parts might include: hands, forearms, knees, shoulders, hips, and your pretty head, if you dare.

Agility

Much agility and control is built in transitions from one asana to the next. The transitions are equally valuable as the poses themselves in improving your fitness and health. That’s why so many people love Vinyasa Flow. You learn to enter into – and come out of – a pose in a dozen different ways, continuously challenging your body and gaining full control of  your movement.

Improved posture and freedom from back pain

Do you sometimes catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and see an image resembling Quasimodo? As a teen and a young adult, I used to be the queen of bad posture – tall and suffering from scoliosis – so I know a thing or two about it. It doesn’t only make you look twenty years older, it leads to a serious amount of pain. With consistent practice of both yoga and Pilates, I’ve managed to fix my back to such an extent that even professionals  often have a hard time telling I have scoliosis. And best of all, I am pain-free. You can be, too. I will do my best to get you there.

Sense of accomplishment

It’s a great feeling when you can first lift your feet off the ground in a crow, even for a second or two – or hold a plank for a full minute. As your body explores and pushes its new boundaries, you will discover you are capable of things you haven’t even dreamed of!

Ability to self-monitor and develop better habits

This is probably the greatest achievement of all, and the hardest one to build. Awareness is key, so important I had to write a separate article on it.

A new community

The people coming to my classes are, without exception, absolutely lovely. Many of them have known each other for years by now, and newcomers are always warmly welcome. My goal is to continue to provide opportunities for people to connect. Perhaps you would like to join us for a coffee after our monthly workshop in Southsea, or on Mondays in Bitterne?

I am now running beginners and advanced yoga classes in Woolston on Monday nights and an intermediate yoga class in Lowford in the Bursledon Community Centre. If you live in Southampton, especially in Woolston, Bitterne, St Denys or Bursledon, come and try one out!

Finally, I think I need to also add what you won’t get in my classes. I am a humanist, and as such I don’t believe in the supernatural. All classes are intensely practical and focused on anatomy and very much on our physical selves. Because of this, I do not make references to chakras, nadis, karma, prana, kundalini and other concepts embraced and discussed by more traditional yoga teachers, as I consider them as more metaphorical rather than real. I also don’t chant; however, we do relaxation and, at times, meditation, at the end of the class.

I am always happy to answer any of your questions, if you have more. Please email me at barbara@bravebodies.com or call me between 9am and 6pm at 0798 223 6118. I look forward to meeting you.